The New York Power Authority opened a gate of the Long Sault Dam on the St. Lawrence yesterday to finally begin giving some relief to Lake Ontario shoreline property owners who have been flooded by record high water levels.
The increased water outflow is at the direction of the International Joint Commission and its St. Lawrence River Control Board. Flooding along the St. Lawrence has gone down with drier weather, making it possible to finally step up water releases from Lake Ontario.
The water still has to be released slowly to avoid new flooding along the St. Lawrence. Lake Ontario is still rising. At 248 feet, nine inches, it’s up an inch from yesterday’s reading at Rochester. Lake Ontario holds so much water it would take about a week to reduce the lake level by less than half an inch.